When I signed for the package I told the letter carrier about Nikki's great adventure and he was impressed! I am as well. I'm also very touched by what I discovered inside the package. Of course I knew a lens hood had been added and a filter, though I found two, not one. But then I unfolded the note that so many of you wrote on. Honestly, it brought tears to my eyes. What a remarkable thing we've done together.

I'm going to post a few photos, beyond our informal four photo limit, as I tell the story of Nikki's arrival at my home.

I'm guessing that is the original box that held Nikki when she left Australia. How far that box made it I have no idea...

Contents of the box except for this...

Nikki arrives at the "place of honor" used for most of the lens photos I've been taking of late.

And with her older sister. Interesting the relation between the lens description and the aperture ring that differs between the two lenses.

And the new coating seems evident in this comparison of their front elements.

But then look at the difference between the two lens hoods, the smaller that came with Nikki and the larger I bought for the H version. Perhaps that will save me for unwanted light.

More will be revealed in the coming days as I take Nikki on a tour of the San Francisco Bay Area.

With regard to the non-CPU register I've had more than nine lenses for a LONG time and it has never posed a problem to make changes on the run. I seldom take more than five or six lenses with me and I add the new details as I mount lenses, replacing lenses not currently in my bag. I wouldn't complain about chipped the lenses, though I wouldn't want to do anything that diminishes the aesthetic experience of handling and using the lenses. Yes, having EXIF information would be useful but I've managed to deal with that through including the lens in the file name I save. Looking at the name I know which lens was used and whether extension tubes or teleconverters were used. Lightroom note aperture and shutter speed, as well as the lens I've identified in the non-CPU register. It is not a hardship, at least for me...

I'm glad you said it just that way Mark, because so many talented photographers have put Nikki through her paces over the last tens months that I'll have to scramble to make a worthwhile contribution to this thread and to the blog. But I'm game and I think I can find a few interesting places I've not reported on before, at least on this thread. Nikki is a gorgeous lens at one of my favorite focal lengths, so this should be a pleasure. But today is my partner's birthday and I have a class this evening, so Nikki will have to wait a bit...

Leighton, I'm going to do something special with that letter before I pass it along to Ben. I might even ask him if he'd mind if I kept it. But regardless, I'll make certain that everyone who is on the list gets a facsimile of the letter. I'd love to frame it and put in it on the wall. This is definitely an experience I will treasure. We done good my friend!

rankamateur wrote:
I have 7 now that I have installed the CPU chip on. It is sooooooooooooo nice to stick the lens on and shoot and not fool with the menu everytime you take one off and put another on. In the end I will reserve the 9 slots for lenses that can not be chipped such as the 50 1.2 or a lens that I may be considered crazy for whacking the baffle on such as the 200-400.

They say 3 is the charm but in my case it took 4. Leighton started this quest with his incessant posting of fantastic images with the 50-135mm. The first I bought on Ebay was advertised perfect working condition.(should have asked questions) The zoom flopped back and forth. The 2nd I bought on Ebay and specifically asked and was told the zoom was normal. It flopped up and down. Both these sellers had over 3000 positive feedback and no negative. The 3rd I bought on the forum advertised as firm zoom. Nope not firm. Better than the others but still moved on it's own. As luck would have it I found a listing on Ebay that said the lens was new but did not have the box. I said what the heck at $80 how could you go wrong. The darn thing is unreal. Firm focus and very firm zoom. Not a mark, not a spec of dust and not any evidence it was mounted. The funny thing is I took pics with every one of them. I see not one bit of difference so that says the copies have really tight tolerances. A couple shots with the new one.

When I signed for the package I told the letter carrier about Nikki's great adventure and he was impressed! I am as well. I'm also very touched by what I discovered inside the package. Of course I knew a lens hood had been added and a filter, though I found two, not one. But then I unfolded the note that so many of you wrote on. Honestly, it brought tears to my eyes. What a remarkable thing we've done together.

I'm going to post a few photos, beyond our informal four photo limit, as I tell the story of Nikki's arrival at my home.

I'm guessing that is the original box that held Nikki when she left Australia. How far that box made it I have no idea...

Contents of the box except for this...

Nikki arrives at the "place of honor" used for most of the lens photos I've been taking of late.

And with her older sister. Interesting the relation between the lens description and the aperture ring that differs between the two lenses.

And the new coating seems evident in this comparison of their front elements.

But then look at the difference between the two lens hoods, the smaller that came with Nikki and the larger I bought for the H version. Perhaps that will save me for unwanted light.

More will be revealed in the coming days as I take Nikki on a tour of the San Francisco Bay Area....Show more →

Laura just pointed out to me that what I thought was a diminutive lens hood is actually the front lens piece that was damaged when the lens was dropped. I see my mistake. The hood Dean bought is the same as the one I purchased, the HN-7. I think I'll mount mine of the lens for its stay in Marin. Now I'm off for dinner.

Did the hood actually make it all the way there though? I went back through the posts to see, and curiosity is killing me now .

CGrindahl wrote:
Laura just pointed out to me that what I thought was a diminutive lens hood is actually the front lens piece that was damaged when the lens was dropped. I see my mistake. The hood Dean bought is the same as the one I purchased, the HN-7. I think I'll mount mine of the lens for its stay in Marin. Now I'm off for dinner.

Sorry, no cigar. The box arrived with no hood. The hood shown in the photo I posted is one I bought shortly after buying the 85 f/1.8 H AI'd. So we have the mystery of the misplaced lens hood. Monty probably sold it...

rankamateur wrote:
I have 7 now that I have installed the CPU chip on. It is sooooooooooooo nice to stick the lens on and shoot and not fool with the menu everytime you take one off and put another on. In the end I will reserve the 9 slots for lenses that can not be chipped such as the 50 1.2 or a lens that I may be considered crazy for whacking the baffle on such as the 200-400.

CGrindahl wrote:
Sorry, no cigar. The box arrived with no hood. The hood shown in the photo I posted is one I bought shortly after buying the 85 f/1.8 H AI'd. So we have the mystery of the misplaced lens hood. Monty probably sold it...

CGrindahl wrote:
Leighton, I'm going to do something special with that letter before I pass it along to Ben. I might even ask him if he'd mind if I kept it. But regardless, I'll make certain that everyone who is on the list gets a facsimile of the letter. I'd love to frame it and put in it on the wall. This is definitely an experience I will treasure. We done good my friend!

I stuffed that piece of paper in at the last minute (and I cringe at my own scribbles, sounds vaguely suggestive). So there's no input from Ben... yet. Maybe he can complete it?
Something to consider